ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈmand
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In the military, one's mandate is to follow the commands (and sometimes the countermands) of the officers. Doing their bidding is not particularly commendable—it's simply mandatory. The Latin verb mandare, meaning "to entrust" or "to order," is the authority behind countermand. It's also behind the words mandate, command, demand, commend (which can mean "to entrust" as well as "to praise"), and mandatory. Countermand came to English via Anglo French, where the prefix cuntre- ("against") was combined with the verb mander ("to command"). It has been a part of English since the 1400s.
Examples of countermand in a Sentence
Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2025
Another said Trump is countermanding the Pentagon, which had made a decision without presidential approval.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025
Trump’s Achilles’ heel, where his policies may yet be countermanded by the judicial branch, are his arbitrary tariffs, having their root in a delegation as broad as that for FDR’s National Recovery Administration.
—George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2025
We also were concerned that if the anti-congestion pricing Donald Trump was returned to the White House, the tolls that began later on would be at a greater risk of being countermanded by Washington.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for countermand
Cite this Entry
“Countermand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countermand. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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